A suspended railway has at least one upper suspension cable supported at intervals at towers and following caternary paths between the towers each of which is provided at its top with an upwardly convex carrying saddle over which the suspension cable passes (see copending application Ser. No. 956,652). Suspended from this upper cable by means of a plurality of horizontally spaced upright hangers or suspenders (see copending application Ser. No. 956,654) of different length is one or more lower track cables that define a generally straight and noncaternary path which may be level or inclined. In a light-duty low-speed system a passenger or freight car has a bogey or truck that rides directly on the track cable.
In a heavy-duty system the track cable carries a rigid track (see copending application Ser. No. 956,442) on which the passenger or freight car rides (see German patent publication No. 1,905,686). Such a rigid track greatly decreases lateral sway, that is displacement of the track and car in a horizontal direction transverse of the direction of travel longitudinally along the cables, and permits heavy loads to be transported at high speeds.
Such a system is normally provided at each of the towers with at least one stressing or shaping beam (see copending application Ser. No. 906,854) which imparts to the track between the towers in the unloaded condition a negative curve, downward concavity, that is straightened out when these sections between the towers are loaded by a car traveling along the track (see German patent publication No. 2,149,871). The amount of vertical deflection at the tower is minimal, so that it is even possible to mount such a beam on the tower.
Stations must be provided along such a suspended railway for loading and unloading or diverting a car onto another track. Whether they are way stations through which the railway passes, terminal stations at which the transport path ends, or junction stations where three or more tracks meet, such stations are invariably supported fixedly relative to the ground and are provided with stationary guide and support structure for the cars which must be fully stationary during any loading, unloading, or switching from one track to another.
since the suspended section of the track moves vertically as the car moves along it, but the section of track fixed in the station does not, a considerable strain is effective on the track at the location where the suspended section merges with the fixed section. For high-speed operation it is, however, essential that the freight or passenger car be able to move smoothly and rapidly across this transition area.